As I suspected, there would be a Vietnamese connection, if this search were to be completed.

And there was.

Maybe a 10-minute walk from this room in Tin Hau is a tiny place, hardly more than a food stall, called “Aborigine Vietnamese Baguette House.”

And they have some quite nice baguettes there.

Now, they aren’t exactly what I’m looking for, because they use baguettes for sandwiches. But it’s a start.

The back story:

The place apparently is run by a Vietnamese guy who lived in Australia for a while before moving to Hong Kong.

Being Vietnamese is key because, as we noted in an earlier post, they can do baguettes from their association with the French (as part of French Indochina).

What he does with his baguettes is a sort of fusion of east and west.

They bake a batch of baguettes a bit shorter than the ones you think of, from France (or even La Brea Bakery, in SoCal) …. and they use them as the basis of sandwiches, called banh mi  in vietnamese.

Which works for them because they are extremely interesting concepts.

The varieties are chicken, pork, shredded pork, and oyster mushroom. They are offered on three sorts of baguettes, regular (this is what I was craving), black malt and bamboo charcoal. Those last two look just weird. But I digress.

The sandwiches turn out to be difficult to describe. Savory, spicy (almost to the point of prompting a sweat), a bit crunchy and a little meaty.

Leah suggested they taste rather like Vietnamese spring rolls — but with a baguette on the exterior, instead of deep-fried wrappers.

It’s a great change of pace. The sandwiches are about $4.50 each (U.S.), and they’re made while you wait. The guys toast the bread, slather in the shredded vegetables and meat, and there you are, with a hot sandwich.

Anyway, I suppose I could ask them to sell me a couple of short baguettes, without the meat.

But I have a lead on a Vietnamese bakery not far from where we are now. I went to look at it the other day, and didn’t see a name on the place — nor any baguettes for sale. But I will go take another look tomorrow.

Maybe I can find a baguette. There is a saying in Hong Kong that literally anything you can imagine is for sale here — somewhere. It’s just about finding it.